The work started after the Newtown, Conn., massacre and calls from Washington lawmakers and President Obama about the need to overhaul the country's gun laws and mental health system.

Despite the anniversary of the Newtown shooting, the bill drew little attention. "I guess if there was a shooting announced this morning, more [reporters] would have showed up," Murphy told CNN. Ironically, there was a shooting the next day, at Arapahoe High School in suburban Denver, although it is unclear what role the shooter's mental health played.

Clarifies the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) so physicians and mental health professionals can provide information to parents and caregivers about a loved one who is in an acute mental health crisis

Creates the position of assistant secretary for mental health and substance use disorders within the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate federal government programs

Advances tele-psychiatry to link pediatricians and primary care physicians with psychiatrists and psychologists in areas where patients do not have access to mental health professionals

"Those who need help the most are getting it the least because the nation's mental health system is broken," Murphy said in a press release. "Too many individuals with mental illness are ending up on the street or in jail because of mental illness. We must no longer be silent on the need to help the mentally ill, because millions of families are struggling with a son, daughter, or loved one who is sick and needs help."

Rep. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), a Louisiana physician, is a co-sponsor on the bill.

In the year since the Newtown shooting -- and the laundry list of similar events that followed -- pointed to a need for mental health reform, no bill has yet to pass. Last week's press conference was a microcosm of the attention the issue has not gotten on Capitol Hill.

There were many other events that day in the nation's capital that would cause reporters to be elsewhere, including an active day of voting in both the House and Senate and various policy meetings.

But the point still stands that mental health legislation has a hard time gaining attention in Washington.

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